Page 34 of The Complication
The murmur of conversation became white noise as my attention shifted to my work, forgetting about everything other than my art and Joy’s amused noises as she played. It was a soft knock on the doorway that pulled me back out again.
I twisted around to find Franks standing in the open doorway, looking a bit flustered. “I’m sorry to bother you, sir, but Mr. Byron Graham has stopped by and is requesting to speak with you.”
“I don’t know any Byron Graham,” I stated in a breathy whisper, trying to sound as serious as he did, but I found it all kind of silly.
“He’s a friend of Mr. Foster, and I believe he’s dating Mr. Sebastian Courtland.”
Ohhhhh…thatByron.
I’d been temping at Courtland for a month when gossip had exploded through the company that Byron was dating his boss, CEO Sebastian Courtland, and that he’d been let go. Meanwhile, Sebastian had gotten nothing more than a slap on the wrist. I’d attempted to get the scoop on the situation from Declan, but he’d shut my questions down lightning fast. It was the one time I’d seen him genuinely pissed. Most of the time it was a fun, fiery pissed that promised to turn into great sex later. This had been icy pissed, as in “If you continue asking, I’m ending our arrangement this second.” Getting the gossip hadn’t been worth taking that risk.
But Franks had said Byron was not only a friend ofDeclan’s but still dating Sebastian. Well, going to the source was still the best way to get the good dirt.
That being said, I wasn’t about to put on billionaire airs. If I wasn’t in a corporate office, then you were going to get the messy, crazy artist me, which was so much more fun than office me.
“Sure, that’s fine. If you could bring him here, I’m kind of in the middle of this sketch.”
Franks nodded and disappeared down the hall. I turned to Joy and picked up a baby blanket I kept on hand to wipe up drool, snot, and other various things that seemed to come out of her during the day. I wiped Joy’s face so she’d be ready for company, earning a squealing laugh from her. This child was always so happy. Total extrovert like her mother.
I’d just finished as footsteps echoed across the tile foyer, shifting to a warmer sound as they reached the wood of the parlor. With a welcoming smile prepared, I gazed up at a slender man with a narrow face, large eyes, and blondish hair dressed in a very smart suit. Definitely the CEO, all-business type. He looked like he’d been born with a gold spoon in his mouth. Except wasn’t he Sebastian’s assistant? He couldn’t be a billionaireandan assistant, right?
Before I could say a single word, Byron dropped his head back and laughed. Franks at his side froze, his eyes wide in horror as if Byron had exploded into a million pieces. I wasn’t sure how to take this greeting.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Byron apologized, waving one hand in front of him. “You had this expression on your face like ‘Who the hell is this asshole, and why am I even being bothered?’ ”
“Shit. I thought I hid that better,” I mumbled, which made Byron laugh harder.
“No, no. I don’t blame you. The only reason Sebastian’s friends didn’t sneak over to my apartment to give me the third degree when we started dating was because Declan knew mefrom the office. They could get all the inside information they wanted from him.”
I choked on a gasp. Now it was my turn to wave my hands to stop this conversation. “Whoa! Whoa! Declan and I aren’t dating.”
“Huh? Are you sure?” Byron snapped his mouth shut and gave a shudder, as if he couldn’t believe what had slipped off his tongue. “You know what? Let’s restart this entire conversation.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, still feeling dazed and very fucking confused.
Byron stuck out his hand and beamed at me. “Hi, I’m Byron Graham, a friend of Declan’s.”
I extended my hand, only to jerk it away again. I’d been playing in pastels for the past hour and a rainbow of colors covered my fingers. Holding up my hands, I wiggled my fingers at him. “Sorry. I’m a mess, but I’m also Parker Cain, and this is my daughter, Joy.”
Byron’s gaze shot over to the little girl, who shouted as if realizing that she’d become the center of attention.
“She’s adorable. You must be such a proud poppa.”
“I am. You’ve been sent as an emissary because we ran into Rome at the grocery store a few days ago.”
Byron rolled his eyes and dropped into the empty white chair across from me. A low coffee table separated us, littered with a mix of art supplies and baby supplies.
“Yes, and no. A mutual friend of Declan and Sebastian’s circle of friends has moved to the area, and Sebastian wants to have a dinner party to welcome him. They’ve been throwing the idea around for a while. However, when Rome came to our house announcing that Declan was secretly dating someone and threatened to take Rome’s head off in the middle of the store, Sebastian declared the party needed to happen now so we could officially meet you.”
I blinked at Byron because my brain could not processwhat I’d just heard. “I’m sorry, what?” It hadn’t been too hard to follow Byron’s explanation since it was pretty much what I had expected following Franks’s announcement of his arrival. At least, it had been until Rome had claimed that Declan made threats. “This is the first I’m hearing of it. I thought he just glared at Rome, but I guess he might have said something after I left to shop with Joy.”
“Yeah,” Byron drawled. “What you need to know about Rome is that he exaggerates. A lot. Plus, Declan doesn’t need to say anything. He’s got a threatening look that sends Rome into a panic. He claimed Declan was holding you and the baby while threatening his life.”
That…might have been true.
I hadn’t been in the best mental space when we were in the grocery store. Okay, I’d been fucking overwhelmed and on the verge of collapse, but Declan had been there to pull me together.
“Ah…gotcha.” I nodded and sorted through the facts to frame something that was true but didn’t give away too much of Declan’s personal life. If Declan wanted anyone to know that we’d been fucking for months, he would have told his friends already. “Total misunderstanding. Declan and I are friends. We met about a year ago, and recently my apartment burned down. He’s letting Joy and me crash with him for a while. Just until I get on my feet.”
